San Antonio leaders travel to Europe to strengthen relationships, recruit international businesses

SAN ANTONIO – In May, the San Antonio International Airport will get its first nonstop European flight and the groups that made it possible want to keep the momentum going and bring in new businesses.

Recently, San Antonio leaders traveled to Europe to strengthen business relationships and seek new ones.

“We work with companies globally to make sure they know that San Antonio is a wonderful place to live, to grow and to build a business,” Jamie Lutrell, vice president of brand and communications at Greater: SATX said.

The team at Greater: SATX, a private-public nonprofit, is dedicated to growing quality and high-wage jobs in the San Antonio area and have been developing strong relationships with the businesses in Europe.

“Our CEO traveled with a delegation from San Antonio which included Visit San Antonio and the San Antonio International Airport,” Lutrell said.

The San Antonio leaders traveled to London and Frankfurt to continue building the relationships with businesses in those countries and to recruit more international business to San Antonio.

“We have a set of target markets that we focus on, not only for business recruitment, but also for helping out local businesses continue to grow here in San Antonio. We focus on cyber security, life sciences, advanced manufacturing, financial services and of course those headquarter operations as well,” Lutrell said.

Recently, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also traveled to Europe to deepen the economic partnerships between the United Kingdom and Texas.

“The governor’s office, when he is traveling internationally it certainly is opening doors and making sure the message is well received that Texas is open for business and is the best state for business,” Lutrell said.

Lutrell says the new flight from San Antonio to Frankfurt is key to attracting businesses.

“When businesses are looking at our market for the potential expansion opportunities, they are looking at workforce, they are looking at real estate, and they are looking at that connectivity to make sure they will be able to get back to their home base and continue to building upon that,” Lutrell said.

More businesses could create a ripple effect that has a positive impact on the entire city.

“Lets take the most recent JCB, they are a UK based company that is growing here in San Antonio with plans to add over 1,500 jobs. It’s a tremendous opportunity and we know there’s going to be a ripple effect as additional suppliers come in to support their growth in San Antonio,” Lutrell said.